ABSTRACT
Eating disorders are among the conditions thought about in the way. However, it remains quite unclear what "rock bottom" actually means. Motivation for recovery grew out of the acute awareness of the damage the eating disorder was creating. However, the women were clear that being motivated to recover and actually working at recovery are two different things. People commonly experience a tension between their motivation on the one hand, and the emotional and concrete barriers to recovery on the other. It is a widely held belief among laypeople and professionals alike that some conditions require a person to "hit rock bottom" before they will feel motivated to seek treatment and truly engage in the recovery process. Recovery involves facing a deep fear that giving up the eating disorder will result in weight gain and "becoming fat." The final barrier to recovery that was identified by many interviewees was difficulty in accessing appropriate treatment for their eating disorder.
